Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Professional Photographer - An Endangered Species?

The Professional Photographer –

An Endangered Species?

I’m thinking
this title might be getting some photographers’ attention …

What made me
think about this was a thread I was on with some other unit still photographers
on Facebook. One of my colleagues had thrown out this question to the other
still photographers that were out there:

“…are you noticing more
and more bts (behind-the-scenes) images that are being used by the studios and
networks for social media were not taken by the unit photographer assigned to
the show?”

A fair
number of fellow unit photographers replied that they had and some were and
some weren’t troubled by this trend going on. It seems some studios and
networks are using cell phone cameras and simple point-and-shoot cameras to
capture candid shots of the actors on set and then posting them to social media
sites to promote a new episode or film in production. And, they are getting
these images not from the unit still photographer whose responsibility – in the
past – it is to also capture these types of images for public relations and
marketing. Some productions are getting around the normal process to get these
type of images and are not having to cover the cost of having a professional photographer
assigned to the show or production. So in the end the studio gets more images
to use and saves money in the process. A win-win … for them.

Some who are
familiar with the film industry might challenge the above and say that there is
often a notice that is printed on almost all call sheets (the sheet produced
daily that outlines the scenes to be filmed and who needs to be where and when
and distributed to cast and crew) that states: “absolutely no cell phone
cameras allowed on set”. Of course those that work on most sets know this is
often not adhered to by anyone – and most of all by the army of assorted
producers on a good number of the shows today.

So here is
how I see this turning out for “all professional photographers” in the future –
and not necessarily the distant future:

We Might Be the Next
Endangered Species on the Planet!

And I see
this as something all professionals in all the various fields of photography
need to think about. It is not limited to the film and television industries …
not at all.

Scary, I
know, but this has been trending this way for some time now. In years past it
was a slow but steady progression – partly due to the newness and learning
curves associated with Photoshop. Agencies were soon realizing that a pretty cool
and effective image for advertising could be conjured up in Photoshop by some
computer savvy type and that all they really needed was a decent image to start
with. Who needs to pay a pro to capture the starting image? After all, the real
magic is applied in the post production process – according to them, at least.
As more and more graphic artists got pretty handy with this new tool of the
trade and started turning out images not possible in the camera, they started
to gradually take over the responsibility of even creating the image to start
the ball rolling. This allowed the agencies to cut out the costly professional
photographer. Ah-ha … the first nail in the shooter’s coffin.

The second
nail came about with the advent of the digital camera. Now while some of the
professionals loved the introduction of a new camera intended to make their
lives a lot easier, others were a bit leery.The trendy hip cats who embraced the new toy (read: digital camera)
thought this was going to make their lives easy and breezy; They will know
immediately if the exposure is on the money, the composition is solid and the
shot is acceptable to the client for their needs. Whew this will save a lot of
worry over film processing, printing and the possibility of a re-shoot. To
most, this new gadget that didn’t require film and all that went with it, was a
gift from above. No more film costs, processing costs, no more need to carry
different film stocks and filters to handle strange lighting situations … it
was heaven on earth. But was it ……?

We don’t
have to look very far back in the past to see that is was happening more and
more and in industries we thought it could never happen it. Take for example
the recent change in many of the print news rooms across America: entire photo
departments have been “released” from service and the responsibility to capture
that news photo now falls on the reporter in the field. And, I might add, this
is also happening on the video side of news agencies and networks. I see more
and more reporters carrying a small, easy to use digital video camera with a
set of legs to location, setting up their own shot and being the on-air talent,
the segment producer and camera operator all in one. Talk about saving money at
the expense of a well-executed news story.

The
introduction of some great digital devices to record images and motion has
propelled the art of capturing images to new heights. And the learning curve
has been simplified for just about anyone who thinks they have the talent to
shoot pictures or record video and can get in the game. Need proof: go to just
about “photographer’s” Facebook page or Instagram page and look at their list
of “skills”. I saw one recently on Instagram that had me shaking my head. Here
is what this individual listed on their page:

All this
talent in one individual that (who had reported in one of his earlier posts) had
just turned 21. Really, I am curious about the number of years spent perfecting
his multiple skill sets and building a legitimate resume. Just sayin. A further
inquiry into this person’s “credentials” revealed: there was no website (he listed
Facebook as his business page to contact andfor more info), no search results
from a Google search, no listing in any source book and his potential clients
need to text him on his cell phone to book a session – any session … this must
be the new way the professionals are doing business. Don’t get me wrong, I wish
him all the success in the world, and I wish his clients even more luck in
getting what they paid for.

I’ve been
hearing from friends that shoot weddings for a living. They lament that the
number of “weekend warriors” who could afford a nice camera from their 9 – 5
day jobs is increasing and taking a toll on their ability to book a wedding.
When I ask how can a couple compare your portfolios and years of shooting
experience to someone they found on Facebook or Craig’s List, the response is:
“they shop by price”. The wedding couple figures if the
inexpensive/inexperience photographer shoots enough images, there are bound to
be enough of good to decent quality shots to make a wedding album. Glad I’m not
in that field of photography.

Now is this
to say the photographers who do this for a living need to find a good street
corner to start selling pencils on? No, not quite. But it should be a wake-up
call to start thinking about a way to stay relevant in this ever changing
business environment. You can see that the “competition” is growing, and not
necessarily with qualified people. All today’s customer is concerned about is
the cost. The dollar is dictating the way individuals and corporations are
shopping for talent behind a lens. Granted, the non-pros will get a client now
and then, and will most likely not keep them beyond the first assignment.
However the credibility of the trade as a whole takes a hit – non qualified
people putting themselves out there to do assignments that they are not really
ready to be taking on. So a client gets burnt and starts to look for even more alternatives
to meet their needs. Maybe someday they will realize the truth in the old
saying: